Lincoln Riley '100 percent' plans to stay at USC: 'I'm right where I'm supposed to be'

Lincoln Riley has been linked to various open coaching jobs right now, with the college coaching carousel about to start spinning at full speed. Should he be, though?

That’s an answer that depends on who you’re asking. But if you’re asking the head man himself, there’s really no point in including Riley on any such coaching hot boards.

He stated, in no uncertain terms, that he plans to be at USC going forward. He opened up after practice on Tuesday night.

“Oh yeah, 100%. Like I said before, I’m right where I’m supposed to be,” Lincoln Riley said, per Ryan Kartje of the LA Times. “So yeah, that’s, I think nothing other than what we’re building, literally, and I love being here. Yeah, that’s really the end of it.”

In recent days, Kirk Herbstreit floated Lincoln Riley’s name as a backup option for Florida should the Gators miss out on the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes. The suggestion was relatively out of the blue.

“Everybody’s talking about Lane,” Herbstreit said. “What if Lane Kiffin stays at Ole Miss or goes to LSU? I’ve been asking everybody ‘what if you don’t get Lane Kiffin? Who’s next?’ Lincoln Riley… I’ve heard his name. Eli Drinkwitz. There are different names, but it seems here at Florida, they’re all counting on Lane Kiffin.”

Others have gone as far as to suggest that Lincoln Riley would be best suited by a move to another program. To this point, he hasn’t quite gotten USC firing on all cylinders.

Riley won 11 games in his first season with superstar quarterback Caleb Williams, but he’s been hard-pressed replicating that success since. USC could be in line for a 10-win campaign this year if it wins out.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum suggested he should get a jump on USC and bail on the program. He made those comments on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday.

“I’ve been particularly hard on him. I felt like he’s done a good job this year, but he lost again in a big moment,” Finebaum said of Riley. “Ultimately, that really hurts, because he’s not going to the playoff again.

“SC fans don’t really get excited about, ‘Hey, we had a 9-3 season. We’re going to a good bowl game.’ ‘Oh, really, where’s that? And how many tickets will be eaten?’ So, I’ve argued here a couple of weeks in a row, I think Lincoln Riley ought to hightail it out of Southern Cal and see if he can get in one of these major coaching jobs.”

At least for now, though, if Lincoln Riley is to be believed, the head coach isn’t going anywhere. USC can breathe easy.